Trying Something New
by InkedScribbles
Summary: When Tessa starts her new Job at a company called H&C, everything changes. She meets those compalling two boys that seem too perfect to be true. But she can't have them both, can she? AU - Rated M just to be sure.
1. Prologue

She slowly opened her eyes. Woken by the beam of sunlight streaming in through the crack in the curtains. Her head felt clouded. The light was too bright and there was that noise coming from somewhere else in the flat that was almost unbearable to her sensitive ears.

She shrugged off the covers, suddenly feeling way too hot. That was when she realized the boy was still next to her.  
In the bed of the fancy hotel room. _His_ fancy hotel room.

He was gorgeous with all that dark and mysterious aura going on. Last night he had seemed so lively and unstoppable. Unable to stay still for a second. But now as he lay there, he seemed so content. So calm and quiet. And even though she couldn't see his extraordinary eyes, in the state he was in she thought of him as the most beautiful person she'd ever seen.

He did not stir as she slowly stood up, collected all her belongings and left the suite. Closing the door silently behind her. She started to regret that she was not going to ever see him again. Last night had been amazing. At least the parts she remembered. Damn the alcohol. She'd never been that kind of person. The whole one-night stand thing was not really hers. But he had been so very sweet and at the same time one of the most passionate people she'd ever met. And she had been drawn to him from the moment his crystal clear, charming, blue eyes met hers. Oddly enough, he'd seemed to be enchanted enough by her too.

She reached the elevator and as soon as the doors closed, she let her head fall against the cold surface of the glass wall. Her head was spinning. And the images of last night that flashed through her mind constantly weren't really helping. However she couldn't stop thinking about his smile and the twinkling in his eyes.  
_Focus_, she told herself. She had a job to start on Monday and her new life was just about to begin.

But maybe trying new things was going to be her resolution. And she couldn't stop the smile forming on her lips as she thought of her exciting new life and all its possibilities.


	2. Meeting Jem

"You must be the new intern", called out a voice behind her. She spun around, facing a mesmerizing guy in an unfairly good fitting suit, smiling down at her.

"Yes, Theresa Gray." She politely shook his hand.

"Pleasure." He looked like he meant it. "My name is James Carstairs. And yes, I'm the person, the C in H&amp;C stands for."

H&amp;C was the company that had hired her as one of their interns. But she had expected someone way older. H&amp;C indulged a fairly good reputation and was highly respected. But the man, or rather boy, standing in front of her was only a little bit older that she was. _How had he managed to lead a company named after him?_

"And yes, I may seem a little young for the job", he explained as if he'd read her mind. "But Will and I just make a really good team. So there's that ..." He trailed off, seeming to have grown uncomfortable with his own words.

"Well, then I am happy to be welcomed by the head of the company himself", she said, purely because she needed something to bridge the awkward silence.

"Happy to please you." His smile was extraordinarily appealing and she found herself staring at his delicate face. The sharp cheekbones, the slightly Asian-looking eyes, the straight pitch-black hair that almost fell into his eyes. Realizing what he'd just said and that he was staring at her too, he coughed embarrassed.

"Erm, well – We aim to introduce ourselves to all of our new employees. Sadly Will couldn't meet you due to an early meeting. But I'm sure you'll be making his acquaintance soon enough." She nodded unsure what to say next. He pushed his hair back with one hand showing a black marking on the inside of his wrist. He seemed uncomfortable, unable to think of what to say next.

"I don't want to keep you, so maybe you should just fetch someone to introduce me to my work, Mr Carstairs?" He looked up, his eyes meeting hers again.

"You are not keeping me from anything, Miss Gray. And it's Jem not Mr Carstairs, by the way. No need to be all formal. We aim for a friendly and open environment. "

"Okay, well it's Tessa for you then." Now his remarkable lips spread into a real grin.

"It's a delight to meet you, Tessa." His voice was laced with humor but also honesty.

_Was she seriously flirting with her new boss, even though she'd just met him?_


	3. In Thoughts

The rest of the day went over rather uneventful. She was introduced to all the people who'd play an important role in her future working environment. And she figured that they were all pretty nice. She also realized that she most likely had made the right choice by coming to H&amp;C.

Well and then there was Jem.

With his unbearably charming way and those mesmerizing, pale eyes. Tessa couldn't help but swoon a little. However she knew that starting something with her boss was probably the worst idea she'd ever had. Closely followed by the strange thought that sleeping with a gorgeous stranger was a good idea.

Reminded of that one eventful night, she eyed her bed. It was a good thing she hadn't offered to go to her place. Otherwise she wouldn't be able to sleep in that bed for a while. And even though she was alone and her memory was quite mushy, she blushed at the thought of that night's events.

Suddenly she was ripped out of her thoughts by the shrieking sound her phone made. One glance at the display told her who the caller was.

_Sophie._

Damn, she had promised to call her as soon as she got home. And knowing Sophie, she was probably out of her mind with fear that something had happened to Tessa.

"Are you all right?" Was the first thing Sophie said as Tessa answered.

"Well, yes. Sorry. I got distracted."

"By what?" Sophie sounded puzzled.

"Well, you don't want to know."

Sophie was irritated by that, Tessa could tell, but she didn't comment.  
Instead she went on:  
"How was your first day?"

"Actually, Sophie it was great. I mean seriously _great_. Better than I expected."

And then they kept on chatting. About work, about the people she was working with, about books and everything except for the boys Tessa couldn't stop thinking about.

Later, when Tessa was lying in bed, unable to sleep, she allowed her thoughts to wander back to that beautiful stranger. The boy with the dark curls and piercing blue eyes. And with those extraordinarily skilled fingers. But soon the pictures in her mind mingled with much darker and much straighter hair. And eyes that all the color had drained from.  
And finally she fell asleep with two handsome and unreachable boys on her mind.


	4. Flirting

"Good morning, Tessa." A hand shot into her field of vision and waved in front of her face. She seemed to have spaced out again.  
Slowly she turned around, knowing fully well who stood behind her.

"Hello, _Jem_." She greeted the brightly smiling boy. She stole a glance around the room trying to decipher if anyone found it particularly strange that he greeted her so overenthusiastically. But all the eyes she met just smiled genuinely back at her.

"So how's it going? I hope you find in rather pleasuring to work at our company." How did he manage to sound so professional and polite while making her face blush. _Pleasuring indeed._

"Everything is quite fine." She answered mocking his tone. Which only made his smile broaden.

"Well, that does sound great." They stared at each other. Unable to look away. Cast in their own weird spell.  
Realizing they made no sense at all, Tessa shook her head.

"Don't you have important things that are in need of your attention?" She asked. Not trusting herself to act reasonable if this kept going.

"Do you want to get rid of me?" His smile turned wicked. The pale eyes glinting.

"Well, Mr Carstairs - "

"Are you afraid you won't be able to resist me if you are exposed to my charms any longer?"

Tessa's mouth fell open. _Did he seriously just say that? Did her dashingly handsome boss just openly flirt with her?_

"Gotcha!" He said, very un-Jem like. Then he winked.  
Tessa didn't know how to respond to that.

"By the way you are going to meet Will the day after tomorrow. ", Jem said as if nothing had happened.  
"He's going on a work related trip tonight, I'm afraid. But I bet he'll be pleased to meet you on Friday."

"Bet Mr Herondale won't be as pleased to meet me as you are." She muttered. When she realized what she'd just said she gasped.  
The wicked glint had returned into his eyes as they found hers again.

"We'll see, Tessa. We'll see."


End file.
